"Big Love" Recap & Review - "Circle The Wagons"

Big Love
"Circle The Wagons"
Original Air Date: August 6, 2007

[Submitted by: Stacey]

I struggled to watch Big Love this week. I don’t know if it was seriously lacking in story or if I was experiencing, as a viewer, one of the themes that was present during the episode – lack of connection.

Even though the wives (Barb, Nicki and Margene) all seemed to be talking about the same thing, under the surface they were all focused on different issues. Bill asked all his wives if they would support the Weber gaming gambling purchase. Barb was against it from the beginning citing women’s rights and strength in polygamy “What we say collectively as wives matters – if we don’t want it, it won’t happen.” Or later she tells Bill, “I don’t care if you own that company, if you can’t get your wives behind it, you’re giving it up.”

Nicki, on the other hand, spent the episode grieving and feeling alone in that grief for her father, Roman, who was in the hospital recovering from his injuries. Her support of the gambling endeavor seemed more a way to claim her place in her family than of actually believing in its morality. Nicki, more than the other wives, was expected to be against the gambling purchase – so this was surprising. However, as her family, and her mother especially, disowned her, Nicki seemed to need to cling to her family and her place in that family. Like she tells Margene “There’s nothing I wouldn’t do to be a part of my family Margene – nothing.”

As the tie breaker, Margene ends up voting for the Weber Gaming purchase, leaving Barb alone in her protests. It was sad to see Barb again, like last week, in this state. Seeing as her position and her vote was more of a statement than just a vote, it’s almost like everything about her self worth as a woman hung on the power she would feel as the wives united against Bill – forcing him to quit the purchase. When she was outvoted, she was crushed.

As a viewer, I was left wondering the bigger question - do women have any power in polygamy? Or maybe more accurately – how do women have power in polygamy? I don’t know that this episode, or the season for that matter, answered these questions, but it was still an interesting thing to ponder.

On the boring side – Alby is now the appointed guardian for Juniper Creek – this will cause major problems for Bill in later episodes for sure. Nicki steals a bunch of money from Juniper Creek and seems to jump right in, predictably, to a gambling problem and the gambling center.

Only 3 episodes left. Leave you’re comments, let me know what you thought of tonight’s episode!

B-

[image from HBO]